Should slavery be re-instituted in the United States?

[DA Devil's Advocate]

I would be embarrassed as well. It has been ~140 years since you were allowed to own another man in this country, and quite a social stigma has developed since then...

Not to divert the thread, while it is true that it has been 140 years since you were ALLOWED to own another man in this country it is still legal to own another man in this country.

If I recall correctly, Mississippi did not repeal slavery until 1995. I seem to recall Michael Moore's TV Nation doing a bit on this, having a black man with a white slave in Mississippi.

For that entire period, it was not up to Mississippi to decide. It was a Federal issue, so even though one backwards State still didn't repeal their law, that doesn't mean the rule was still in effect.

I originally stated this in response to a post by Swivel in the Micro/Macro Evolution thread. Imagine if you will that you own a coal mine, steel mill, logging camp, or any other type of business that can be separated from the public by distance or walled enclosures. You need cheap labor. What do you do? Now imagine you can go to a local prison and buy the labor you need. You get your manpower and the State saves the expense associated with feeding, housing, and caring for a prisoner.

We hear complaints that the prisons are overcrowded. We hear complaints that the prison system is too lenient. We hear complaints that the system just makes more capable criminals and doesn’t rehabilitate. This would ease crowding in the prisons and reduce the need for new prisons. No one could say that the prisoners have it too easy and it could eliminate the “good behavior, time served, 25 year “life” sentence”. Once their indenture was served the prisoner would have a useful trade.

“That’s outlandish. That’s illegal. The courts would never allow it” you say? The truth is it’s not as far fetched as it sounds. The 13th Amendment, which freed the slaves reads:

“Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

The threat of prison does not deter today’s criminals. They know a fifteen year sentence means they’ll be out in three. For many it’s a vacation. Three hots and a cot. How many would be more likely to obey the law if fifteen years meant fifteen years and life really was life? It’s Constitutional. Even the Supreme Court would have to uphold it. Is it time to bring back slavery?

[nurseronda]

Should slavery be re-instituted in the United States?
I know for a fact that slavery still exists in the United States, and the slaves are called Mom and the slave owners are our wonderful children. We run them to where ever they need to go, cook for them, clean up after them, feed them and find whatever it was that they lost plus we have to use our own money to make sure they get whatever they need or want. :D

[Pete Bondurant]

Should slavery be re-instituted in the United States?

Yes! I support this. Get it done. You have my authorisation.

[Athena]

Private industry already utilizes prison labor. In lots of states, prisoners work on farms.

However, we can't leave these industries to supervise these prisoners all on their own, nor does it entirely spare the state the cost of caring for them.

But, yes, I agree that we should expand our prison labor practices.

[gprime]

As Athena noted, this is already done to some extent. And frankly, it ought to be done on a larger scale. The cost of prosecution and incarceration is absurd, and something that needs to be offset. Obviously providing prisoners with only the minimum (two meals a day, a bed, toilet paper) would be one option. But the idea of forced labor is a good one too. In my mind, there is only one issue. It must be limited to the true criminals. And by that, I me those who belong in prison by virtue of having committed a crime with one or more victims. So, if you want to enslave the child rapist, fine with me. But the pot smoker or the dealer? No fucking way is that reasonable.

[CPL CHUD]

There have been several threads touching upon this. I'll just quote what I said last time.

I think if we are going to spend more money on prison it should be treated as a business. People are reluctant to do so now because they don't see any big returns on their investments. The feeling of safety is not enough. I suggest using them as a work force that generates capital and profit for investors. Have Nike enter an agreement with the government to utillize criminals inhabiting these prisons for long stints as a labor force to make shoes. Have them dig ditches. Build toys. Maintain landscapes. Grow cash crops.

If there is a widely unused resource sitting there for us why aren't we utillizing it? If people are unwilling to put forth bigger deterents for crime, and our prisons are getting more and more crowded, is there any other real choice? Does rehabilitation really work for these repeated offenders?

[Athena]

Yes, indeed, D.A....You're preachin' to the choir on this one. Believe it or not, our boy swivel has posted one of the most on point synposis of how the American prison system ought to work. I'll dig for it. (I know, it's hard to believe a proper choir could be assembled in Three Things, but the stars align, on occasion.)

(And, CPL, so long as I'm whispering, you should have linked to that shit, nigga.)

(Okay, I'm done.)

[swivel]

Should slavery be re-instituted in the United States?
I know for a fact that slavery still exists in the United States, and the slaves are called Mom and the slave owners are our wonderful children. We run them to where ever they need to go, cook for them, clean up after them, feed them and find whatever it was that they lost plus we have to use our own money to make sure they get whatever they need or want. :D

Please explain how the "slaves" are now the ones lynching their "owners".

[nurseronda]

Please explain how the "slaves" are now the ones lynching their "owners".

Which D'D link about a parent killing a kid shall I post? :D

[swivel]

Which D'D link about a parent killing a kid shall I post? :D

Exactly.

[nurseronda]

Ummm Swivel? Do I get an A??? :D

[Pete Bondurant]

Work them until they collapse from exhaustion and malnutrition, then place them in an infirmary until their health improves just enough so that they may be able to work again...that is, until they collapse from exhaustion and malnutrition.

[Athena]

Work them until they collapse from exhaustion and malnutrition, then place them in an infirmary until their health improves just enough so that they may be able to work again...that is, until they collapse from exhaustion and malnutrition.

That's not very efficient. Not at all. If prisoners are going to work for the state, I want them constantly maintained so that they can produce at a consistently high rate.

[Pete Bondurant]

That's not very efficient. Not at all. If prisoners are going to work for the state, I want them constantly maintained so that they can produce at a consistently high rate.

I just want them to die rather horribly.